Get paying customers for your startup in 12 weeks or less
An intense, mentor-driven program designed to transform you from employee to entrepreneur.
Experienced entrepreneurs will walk you through the process to test the fundamental assumptions behind your startup idea so you can learn what resonates with Customers and how to get traction.
You're good at what you do. That was never the question. The question is whether the thing you keep thinking about at 11 pm is real — and right now the only way to find out is to quit, spend two years and most of your savings, and discover the answer.
12-Weeks To Paying Customers
Test your idea before you bet your career on it
In 12 weeks, you run real-world experiments with real Customers, nights and weekends, under the guidance of an experienced entrepreneur, while you keep your job. If your idea works, you get paid Customers for your business, and if it doesn't, you learn where to pivot.
Our entire validation process
Including 200 hours of instructional videos on every step in the process.
An online community of Founders
Engage with other Founders and receive guidance from them.
12 weeks of the Founder's Workbench, free
Software that guides you through designing, running and evaluating your experiments.
12 weeks of live support on group Zoom calls
Ask questions and get guidance on applying the method to your specific situation.
Insight-Driven Iteration
Our proprietary validation method, in three phases, each broken into experiments. Run a test, capture the Customer insight, then proceed, pivot, or kill — until you've earned a business model that scales.
Every week runs an experiment and produces data and evidence. You always know what you're testing this week and what you'll have to show for it.
David Linhardt
Hi. I'm David Linhardt. I am honored to be your Sensei for the 12-Weeks To Paying Customers program!
I started my career at Fortune 500 companies — but I never felt at home in the hierarchy. I started an email marketing company in my house with $5K and I learned building a startup is a completely different game than working for someone else.
My first startup was profitable after three months, and I went on to build five profitable startups in a row on that same $5K. The patterns of what worked became the Insight-Driven Iteration method. I've now built 8 startups — 7 profitable, 3 exits — at my studio, InsightStudios, and I still follow the same process I teach in this program.
FounderDojo Is A Difference Maker
“FounderDojo helps you block out the noise. It helps you focus on what really matters to make your startup successful.”
“I owe 100% of my success to FounderDojo. Whatever else you're thinking about doing, stop and sign up. It will save years of your life.”
“FounderDojo taught me how to listen to Customers. Now I know how to get insight from Customers and use it to improve my business.”
FAQ
Still deciding? Ask David live at the free workshop →
What finding out actually costs
The usual way to learn whether your idea works is to commit first and get the answer over years. Testing first gets you the same answer in weeks — while you keep your job and your savings.
¹ Liao, Welsch & Tan, “Venture gestation paths of nascent entrepreneurs,” Journal of High Technology Management Research 16 (2005), Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics: median gestation of 32 months among founders who reached a first sale. ² Illustrative: a professional earning $150K per year who leaves their job for the 32-month median ($150K × 32 ÷ 12 = $400,000 in salary). Your numbers will differ. ³ Business Insider, "Dear Entrepreneurs, Here's How Bad Your Odds Of Success Are" (2013): 37 of 511 Y Combinator companies (7.2%) were acquired or valued over $40M; at a ~5% acceptance rate, that's ~0.4% of applicants. ⁴ FounderDojo first-cohort results: five of six teams (n=6) were profitable 12 years on or had exited. Small sample, disclosed on purpose. ⁵ The figures in the table above are hypothetical examples and are not a guarantee of success or a promise of any specific outcome. No one can predict the outcome of any startup. FounderDojo makes no claims, representations or warranties except the limited guarantee as specified.
Everything you need to get traction with Customers.
Do the work, and you don't leave without a result.
If you complete all 12 experiments documented in the Founder's Workbench and show up for every live Zoom call, and you don't have either a paying Customer or a logical understanding of why your idea doesn't work, you maintain access to the Workbench for free for a year and we work 1-on-1 until you have traction or figure out what pivot to make.
It's gated on your behavior, not your satisfaction.